Alexa has always been aware of her beauty. Silky hair a color so light it almosts apear white, round, deep blue eyes, puckered lips, a short stature, and perfect curves for child bearing.
Standing before the reflective glass in her father's study she cannot help but smile. Mary insisted Alexa wear something casual but pretty. Her mother had made her a beautiful pair of tight pants that reach all the way to her bellybutton, and a white bodysuit type of clothing to cover the top of her body. It was a new trend these days, bodysuits and tight pants. Alexa's hair is parted in the middle and Natalia and Mary braid each.
"You look stunning," Mary praises. "Your match will surely devour you!"
Natalia, the tenderest sister Alexa has, rubs the nervous girl's back. "Mary means that your match will love you. There will be no devouring."
Alexa is shaking in her high heels. She's so used to her sisters speaking so fondly of their husbands and children but she cannot see herself doing the same. Alexa is more private with her thoughts and feelings, her sisters share most of their lives with each other. Even the sexual parts.
She turns to face her sisters. "May I ask what his name is?" Mary grins again.
"Grayson Ryker."
➖✖➖
Alexa Hayden used to fantasize about a boy names Grayson Ryker. They shared some of the same teachers throughout their childhood. He was the troubled older boy with dark hair. She wanted to speak to him, connect with him, but her shyness always outshone her braveness.
The very same Grayson Ryker sits on a public gathering bench. People walk around, children play on the newly invented swinging contraption, and couples show their affection for one another, but Alexa's attention is locked soley on the boy, now a man, she used to fantasize about.
The soft tap of her shoes catches his attention. The air is knocked out of his body when he sees Alexa. Her eyes are wide and shiny so he can see how scared she really is.
Alexa drinks in his appearance. Dark slacks, not completely buttoned up dark top, and a pair of slightly beat up boots. His upperlip and most of his lower face is indeed scruffy, but Mary forgot to mention how unbelievably neat his facial hair is. His hair is kept short and cut close to his head. He stands from his seat and seems to grow two more feet. He's probably taller than her father!
The two meet in the middle. A smile tugs both of their lips upwards.
"Hello," Grayson greets first, gaining enough confidence to speak to the most exquisite creature he's ever seen. Mary told him her sister was beautiful, a child's foot, and too shy for her own good. She forgot to mention that she is the closest thing to perfection.
"Hello," Alexa squeaks, her entire face burning a bright red. Grayson smiles down at the woman.
"I'm Grayson Ryker, and you are?" He stretches his hand out. A small, dainty hand is placed in his. His larger hand envelopes hers easily.
"A-Alexa Hayden."
Grayson softly tugs his date for the evening down a path littered by different colored leaves. It's Alexa's favorite time of year: autumn.
"Tell me about yourself, Alexa Hayden." The park is in full capacity, especially since it's high noon, but Grayson's attention is fully invested on the nervous looking Alexa.
"My life isn't very interesting, Grayson Ryker. I am the youngest daughter of Timothy Hayden. I have five sisters and two healthy parents. I enjoy a good book very much. Also I've recently discovered a type of music that the people down south adore. It's called Jazz, I believe. Oh how I adore it!"
Her likes are a bit taboo for a woman. Reading and intellect is usually left for the man to worry about, not the woman. And also the fact that Alexa adores music of the south strikes odd.
Grayson nods his head, taking everything in. She's an odd one, he thinks, but he likes how her eyes became alive at the thought of a good book.
"What do your parents do for a living?" Grayson questions.
Alexa smiles at the thought of her parents. "My mother is a seamstress. My father a demolisher." She swings their hands slightly as they continue their afternoon stroll. "And what about yourself? What do you do?"
"I own two shopping centers." Alexa's eyes widen at the thought. Owning one shopping center must be hard work, but two seems impossible. Not many people in her small hometown do anything extraordinary like owning a business.
She glances at Grayson from the corner of her eye. They walk silently for a moment until she gains the bravery to question him some more. "May I ask, Grayson Ryker, why is a man of your accomplishment unwed?"
Grayson is caught off guard by her question. Her deep blue eyes look curiously up at him. He gives her a simple shrug. "Women want a man of wealth, a man of power. With me having both it's easy for women to manipulate themselves into my life. So I've been waiting for a matcher to contact me, claiming to have a woman that would complete me."
Grayson watches Alexa's expression. She seems to be in deep thought.
Alexa can't help but think about her sister speaking to Grayson, talking her to be someone she isn't. Alexa isn't interested in money or power from a man. The only thing she told her sister she was looking for in a man was one thing: a heart.
Mary was utterly confused. She expected something along the lines of handsome or comes with money, but she was given one thing. A heart.
All Alexa wants from a man is his heart.
